What Matters Most
by Onileo
Summary: As Sesshomaru returns to his camp, the question that everyone keeps asking arises once again... Why does he allow Rin to stay?  The answer is much simpler than it seems.  SesshyRin one-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

A/N: For my sister, Internalpanthara, who's obsession with a certain fair demon lord was my introduction to the world of anime and manga. By the way, I guess you could call this a pre-Final Act fic, since Kagura isn't dead, but it's set when Rin is twenty.

What Matters Most

A gust of wind blew through the sparse forest, sending a shower of autumn leaves swirling down to the ground below. Though the floor was covered in shed foliage, none cracked or rustled under the light footsteps of the lone traveler that made his way around a particularly large trunk. Night creatures stilled under the sway of his demonic aura, hoping to go unnoticed as the pale figure in a white and red kimono stepped into the tornado of windblown leaves. Unperturbed, Sesshomaru pulled a stray leaf from his shoulder as he walked and let it fall to join its siblings below. Soon, he would be out of the assault of vegetation, and in the open. The tree line was just ahead, and a few miles beyond that, his camp.

Though he would never voice the thought aloud, he had to admit, he would be most relieved to rejoin his group. His week long absence, coupled with a fruitless search for one of his father's former vassals, had left him not so much physically tired, but mentally worn. Clue after clue he had followed, until a pile of rocks and a decapitated head on a spear ended his search for the lesser dog demon. From the signs left behind, it was obvious that a band of human demon slayers were responsible. But the trail was old, and Sesshomaru had no interest in pursuing them. Besides, there was no need to avenge the death of a demon he had intentions of killing himself, for deserting his duties to the Western Lands.

As the trees thinned out completely, morphing to an open, hilly terrain, Sesshomaru stiffened ever so slightly, his regal demeanor replacing his subtly relaxed one.

He was no longer alone.

He had sensed the female demon a long time before he saw her, a mere shadow on the night wind. He only bothered to slow his steps when she approached, bringing her feather to glide even with his shoulder. As she neared, the breeze grew in strength, stirring his long, silvery hair and skimming across his cheek. He felt her eyes on him as she kept pace a few feet to his right. Not sparing her a glance, he continued walking. "Kagura."

"Lord Sesshomaru." she returned his greeting in a soft lilt. "I noticed that we were both headed in the same direction, and wondered if you would mind some friendly conversation on your travels."

"What do you want?" he asked, the merest hint of ice in his tone. The restlessness he sensed coming from her told him that this was more than just an accidental run in.

"To figure you out, of course." Kagura answered honestly, dropping the sweetness from her tone. She tried to catch his gaze, but was steadfastly ignored. Her face fell as she trained her eyes straight ahead and continued. "Even the great Demon Lord Sesshomaru must have a weakness. Unlike most men, I know it's not a beautiful woman."

He felt her mood darken as she obviously recalled the multiple times she had offered herself to him only to be turned away. "I have no weakness." he replied.

Ignoring his statement, she continued. "And I know it's not the toad. I've seen the way he must scurry from your path to avoid an early death. Is it the girl then?"

"I do not like repeating myself." Sesshomaru warned.

Pressing her luck a little more, but pulling her feather away slightly nonetheless, Kagura shook her head as she toyed with the fan in her lap. "I never did understand why you haul such a puny mortal around with you. It's well known you bear no love for humans."

Sesshomaru finally eyed her from the side, his displeasure at her pestering hardening his face. "Rin is free to do as she chooses. I do not 'haul' her anywhere."

The female demon's scent was twinged with jealousy as she grew quiet. She had been trying to find a way to free herself from Naraku's bondage for years, unsuccessfully. She knew that she meant nothing to her creator, and would eventually be sacrificed to further some greater plan of his once she had completed the tasks he had assigned her. Unwilling to accept her chosen fate, she began aiding those who sought Naraku's death. She had even approached him, offering her body to him if he would destroy the spider demon. He had refused her, his nobility keeping him from agreeing to such a base arrangement. Not that he would anyway. She was an incarnation of Naraku, and he didn't trust her.

And apparently, she was scheming again. Just to make sure Kagura didn't get any sudden ideas about involving his ward in another bid for his cooperation, he reached down and unsheathed Tokijin several inches. He watched as her eyes widened slightly and tasted the fear from her on the wind. She threw her hands up in a gesture of surrender and flew several yards away from him.

"My apologies." she said curtly, trying to hide the hurt in her voice, "I did not mean to offend you."

Then she was gone, blown back on course by whatever task Naraku had set for her. Or maybe questioning him was her task. Either way, it did not matter. What she was told to do was no concern of his. As long as she knew better than to attack him or those that were under his protection. Re-sheathing his sword, he continued on his way, not displeased that he was once again alone.

He was midway across a grassy field when he paused. The gurgle of swiftly running water caught his sensitive hearing. This was a familiar spot, where not very long ago, he was confronted by his half-brother. Ironic was the fact that the subject of their 'discussion' was Rin as well. She had been sixteen at the time, and had just returned from bathing in the nearby creek. Dressed in one of his old, discarded kimono, she hauled her freshly washed clothes to a sunny spot to let them dry. She had barely reached it when Inuyasha bounded in from the opposite side. He was alone, and had obviously been on his way to somewhere in a hurry, but when he saw Sesshomaru and Jaken, he stopped and drew Tetsuaiga with a sneer.

_"What are you doing here, Sesshomaru?" he asked loudly._

_ "None of your concern." came the simple reply._

_ Then his gaze landed on Rin, and his sneer turned to a frown as his eyes narrowed. He looked between the two before he ground out a "...you bastard."_

_ Jaken looked shocked, and Rin looked confused, but Sesshomaru just gave his brother a cold stare. "I believe you are mistaking me for someone else."_

_ His barb was either lost or ignored as Inuyasha became more irritated. "After all the years of preaching about how much humans are trash, I find you out here with a girl we both know is too young ...and a human. Is this why you let her follow you around all this time? Heh, guess you've got more of the old man in you than you thought. You damn hypocrite."_

_ "Just what are you implying, Inuyasha?" Jaken nearly shrieked in indignation._

_ He pointed Tetsuaiga at Rin. "That the great and mighty 'Lord Sesshomaru' is nothing more than a dirty old dog, just like his father."_

_ Sesshomaru stepped forward, hand on the hilt of his sword, anger barely concealed by a solemn face. "Inuyasha, lower your sword. Now."_

_ "And if I don't?" _

Needless to say, Inuyasha found out what that 'if' was. Despite Rin's pleas of innocence, the half-demon attacked him, bent on avenging an imaginary wrong in his usual brash manner. And though he had stopped trying to actually kill his brother years ago, Sesshomaru left him with a sound beating and the threat that if he ever brandished arms against Rin again, he would breath his last. Then he walked away, Jaken trailing behind, chin in the air as he taunted Inuyasha with his lord's superiority. Rin quickly gathered up her clothes and hurried to follow, but not before she knelt next to the sulking Inuyasha and checked his wounds as she explained to him that she was just bathing and her lord would never treat her in that manner.

As she walked away, Sesshomaru heard Inuyasha sniff the air behind her, sorting through the scents in the air. The girl's smell was still pure, proving Rin's innocence. Glancing over his shoulder, Sesshomaru saw the bewildered look on his brother's face, and couldn't help the smug little twitch that found his lips as their eyes met.

That same twitch found him again as the memory faded and Sesshomaru found himself standing outside his camp. Ah-un opened one eye as he entered the small grotto they had chosen for the night, then closed it again as he snorted and settled down for rest. If it had been anyone but him, they would have been burned to a crisp before they could blink twice. Skirting the fire and the remainder of his slumbering companions, Sesshomaru glanced down at them as he passed. Jaken mumbled coarsely as he gripped his staff in his sleep, but Rin never even stirred.

Moving some distance away, Sesshomaru settled against a tree to stand guard the rest of the night. Keeping one leg bent, he stretched the other out. Once comfortable, he lifted his face to the chilly breeze and turned his gaze upward. Though this time of year had the brightest moonlight, it was dimmed by the thin, fluffy clouds that rolled across the sky with the wind. Illuminated from behind, the bands of silver rippled across the heavens like the coat of a celestial tiger. If Rin were awake, she would surely be smiling in delight at the sight of it.

At that thought, he tilted his head until his eyes landed on her sleeping form. The fire had died down to embers, the faint orange glow highlighting her outline. A woman of twenty now, she had lost her child's body long ago, replaced by a filled out frame, coupled with lean muscles that spoke of her years of travel. Still she hadn't moved, the only sign of life the shallow rise and fall of her ribs as she breathed. Returning his gaze to the heavens, he thought about what Kagura had said about her being his weakness. She and Inuyasha were not the first to ask him such questions. All the world seemed to sit and wonder at their strange relationship.

The demons did not understand why he let her follow him, completely unfettered by responsibility. As far as they could tell, the only thing he gained from her presence was the ongoing burden of having to rescue her from one dangerous situation after another. The humans did not understand why she chose to follow him, when their sparse interactions seemed lukewarm at best. Even Jaken was mystified by it, and voiced his opinion on it many times.

But they did not have to understand. They did not matter. Where he walked, she walked. And when her human feet found an impossible situation and she stumbled, he would turn and catch her. She, in turn, trusted him to catch her with an innocence that would stop a lesser demon's heart. It was this utter devotion that stayed his temper when she ran off into the woods, or slowed their progress by stopping to pick whatever flowers had caught her eye, or annoyed Jaken until he was livid. And the same that hastened his steps whenever she was in trouble.

He had been so lost in thought as he gazed up at the sky, that he almost missed the subtle sound of her rolling over in her sleep. Shifting his attention, he listened as her breathing changed, becoming lighter and faster as she neared consciousness. A minute later and she was sitting up, grabbing the stick she had used as a poker the night before and trying in vain to coax the small orange embers back to life. Several failed attempts later, and she lay the stick back down before stretching out and attempting to fall back asleep. That too, was useless, as a fog settled around them, no doubt sending a damp chill through her body.

He kept still through the whole thing, not wanting to disturb her should she manage to fall back asleep. But a half hour later she gave up, and he heard her approach from behind. She didn't speak, but waited a few feet away, her eyes trained on his back. Without moving, he spoke.

"Are you cold, Rin?"

Taking his words for permission to join him, she silently closed the distance between them and sat just to his right. Automatically, Sesshomaru lifted his arm, creating a space for her to move closer. She did, curling up against his thigh with her head pillowed on his leg. He let his arm drape across her shoulder, his fur covering her thin body like a fuzzy blanket. She gave a contented sigh and a murmured thanks and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was asleep again.

He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she returned to her slumber. Her long hair had partially fallen across her face, hiding one cheek from view. No doubt, if his half brother were to see them like this, he would take great pleasure in reminding him again how he had condemned their father for loving a human, only to turn around and do the exact same thing. But it wasn't the same thing. While Inuyasha's mother had chosen to stay with her people, cowering in fear of what the humans thought of their love, Rin had fearlessly chosen to follow him, casting off her world for his.

It was amusing, the way she trusted him, a demon lord capable of snuffing her out with no effort. She was like a butterfly resting in the open palm of a giant, flapping her wings and never giving a thought to the destructive power around her. All it would take was one flinching reflex, one misstep, and she would be crushed. So he carried his butterfly as carefully as he could, letting her grow strong as he watched over her. And if there came a day when she chose a different path for herself, he would not close that hand by trying to stop her. Better to let her fly away from him than to see even the tiniest hint of distrust in her eyes. He felt his heart stir, and he forced himself to look away.

As if sensing his thoughts, Rin's hand rose in her sleep, her slender fingers wrapping around his clawed hand as it lay inches from her exposed collarbone. His eyes softened slightly as he turned back and watched her cling to him, mumbling his name softly as she dreamed. Her scent rose to his nostrils, sweet in its purity. Relaxing in the peace that surrounded her, he let the memory of it burn into his brain, to be kept sacred forever. And for the first time since he couldn't remember when, his lips lifted into a small smile.

As he said before, it didn't matter whether or not they understood. They did not matter.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: There you have it. I apologize if it's all cliché, but I doubt there is much that hasn't been done for this pairing. Hope you enjoyed it regardless.

~Oni


End file.
